There is no “I” in team

We have always had the pleasure and opportunity to work with clients who make decisions based on a team approach. A team brings opinions. A team brings challenges. A team brings ideas.

It always amazes me how often I hear stories about projects where the client, the architect, the engineers and the contractors are all separate, not engaged, and literally hand off each phase of their responsibility to the next person in line. The client finds himself or herself isolated without consultants or supporters. The architect completes his/her work in a bubble. The engineers get no direction. And the contractor is on his own to price, coordinate and construct.

There is no better formula for success than creating a team. Communication between each member of that team ensures that the client understands and approves the design. It ensures that the architect listens and responds properly to the client. It ensures that the architect coordinates details and systems with the engineers. It ensures that the contractor is involved from the beginning so that he understands the design, the schedule and the budget. Ultimately, it ensures that every team member has played a part in the entire process and respectively influenced the final design and project completion. That is the definition of a successful development.

Sarasota Architects - Schimberg

Nostalgia in renovations

Sometimes, if one chooses to renovate a space with some history, whether a restaurant, a residence or even a building exterior, an opportunity presents itself for reinvention, rather than completely starting over. Renovations provide the ability for designers and architects to incorporate elements into the new design from the past. Rather than ignoring what was there before, we can figure out ways to include elements such as specific pieces of furniture, light fixtures or even a material used in one way originally but transformed into another in the new design. Renovations are often inherently nostalgic and they should be treated as such. A good renovation finds the balance between old and new, but more importantly, between creating a new experience while keeping the essence of the previous design.

Sarasota Architects - Schimberg

Renovation is not Preservation

It is human nature to gain comfort with what was originally designed, built or installed, before a renovation. The idea of what will be designed gets outweighed by what we already liked and disliked. We may lean towards furniture that we grew up with; a bar countertop we drank at each night or even those first dollar bills the business made, put up for nostalgic reasons over the years. Our minds get caught visualizing or desiring these previous elements rather than looking forward to what a renovation can inspire.

Renovating a building or space refreshes, upgrades and even recreates the experiences patrons or residents or employees encounter once completed. Remember, there is a huge difference between renovation and preservation and we should not confuse the two. Preservation is meant to preserve what was originally built, most often associated with historic places or sometimes associated with a simple appreciation or attraction to the original design. Preservation is meant to copy or keep what was originally built.

Renovation, on the other hand, is an opportunity. It is an opportunity to make change and provide a newer, better experience than before through the use of design. Renovation can keep the essence of what was originally designed, but not exactly what was originally built.

Sarasota Architects - Schimberg


VR is not perfect




In the blue trunks … 2D, and in the red trunks … 3D

So what’s better, a 2D presentation or a 3D presentation? The answer is neither. The answer is both.  The answer depends on the project and the answer depends on the end product. In all of our presentations, we have found a consistent pattern in how we express our design to the client. First a sketch, typically hand done whether rendered or not, then a more accurate plan based on an Autocad drawing, allowing us to determine real dimensions, adjacencies and site constraints. Then we take it vertical, as a model, so it can be rendered in perspective, sometimes abstractly, sometimes photo quality. And now, we put it into virtual reality for the client to truly experience the design. Ironically though, in the end, we go back to the beginning.  We create product specific to the presentation, whether for marketing, for sales or for construction. The hand done sketch may entice that idealistic buyer. Actual floor plans may succeed in gaining a team’s approval of the project and a virtual reality tour may just wow everyone for that next big job. I think it’s a draw.

So what’s better, a 2D presentation or a 3D presentation

Photorealism demands accuracy


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Is that really what it looks like?


It sure seems real!


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Can I see it in 3D?



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